Les 5 du Vin 2 Bourgueil and Saint-Nicolas-de-Bourgueil

Representatives of the two appellations: Stéphanie Caslot (Bourgueil) and Sébastien David (Saint-Nicolas) 

@Real Wine Fair, London May 2012   

Les 5 du Vin are gathering in Bourgueil and based at the Café de la Promenade to explore the two appellations – Bourgueil and Saint-Nicolas-de-Bourgueil. Michel Smith arrived last evening in La Loire and stayed overnight with us in Touraine. We enjoyed a soirée de la modération – looking at a few bottles:

Apéros: Château de l'Aulée: Brut Zéro (beautifully clean and brilliant value, Crémant de Loire; Triple Zéro, Montlouis, Jacky Blot.

Salad with lardons, chèvre and mushrooms: 2000 MD, Sancerre Blanc, Henri Bourgeois; 

Pot roasted chicken with lemon and garlic: 1997 Côt, Touraine, Clos Roche Blanche (still very youthful and deep coloured); 2003 Anjou Villages, Domaine de Bablut (rich and soft) 

Cheese: 1988 Coteaux du Layon, Saint-Lambert-du-Lattay, Domaine Ogereau.  1988 is a neglected vintage overshadowed by 1989 and 1990 but there were some good things made in this year. Vincent Ogereau's 1988 was lovely – beautifully balanced and reminiscent of 2002. 

Baked peaches in Muscat de Rivesaltes: 1990 Cuvée Céline, Vouvray, Pascal Delaleu. Rich and very youthful. Much less coloured than some 1990s.

This morning we went over to Mareuil-sur-Cher to see Catherine Roussel and Didier Barrouillet at the Clos Roche Blanche. 

 Michel Smith@Clos Roche Blanche (above and below)

Yellow flowers in the vineyards of the Clos Roche Blanche. Bright yellow is particularly effective in attracting insects – just one example of the many insects providing balance and biodiversity in the vines. 

Despite the fact that their wines regularly sell out Catherine and Didier continue to have problems getting their Clos Roche Blanche wines through the agrément. Perhaps if they had fewer flowers in their vineyards .....!!

No life here but I bet this producer has no problems getting the agrément!       

Insects – le vrai goût de terroir?

Mass of insects on and in the bin below the sorting table@Domaine Charles Joguet

During a swift visit yesterday to Domaine Charles Joguet where we saw François-Xavier (FX) Barc and his team, I discovered to my astonishment how many insects are gathered in even when picking grapes into cagets (small plastic boxes).

Grapes waiting to be sorted at Domaine Charles Joguet: 8.10.09

The domaine has a new vibrating sorting table which includes a series of small holes through which undersized and dried out grapes (often burnt to a frazzle by the sun) as well as insects drop through into a blue bin underneath. Here are some photos of this host of spiders, ladybirds and earwigs etc. Normally all of these insects end up in the fermenting vat, while these fortunates will be returned to the vines. Many of these insects, the ladybirds, are highly beneficial as they eat unwanted insects that attack the vine and its grapes.

Closer view of some of the insects

......and closer

Of course there will be many fewer insects in grapes from vineyards sprayed with pesticides, insecticides and weedkillers.

The presence of fermented insects in wine may at last explain the origin of le goût de terroir! Certainly if labelling of all wine ingredients becomes complusory it will be necessary to list insects. Whether it will be necessary to list the proportion and the species remains to be seen.

A wider view – there are whole clusters of ladybirds on the insides of the bin